The Swiss makers of an application recommended by
the Islamic State (Isis) group as providing a safe way to communicate defended the technology on Thursday, saying that "total surveillance" was not the solution to stopping extremist violence.

Swiss exports stagnated last month but a drop in imports left Switzerland with a record balance of payments surplus of 4.2 billion francs, the federal customs administration (FCA) reported on Thursday.

Chinese officials told a UN hearing in Geneva on Wednesday that their country was working hard to root out torture, but experts and activists accused them of dodging tough questions and insisted the practice remained commonplace.